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On this episode of Grant Writing & Funding, our guest Meredith Noble from Learn Grant Writing shares an inspiring journey from corporate grant writing to launching a startup idea. We learn about the challenges she faced when realizing the idea wasn’t solving a real problem that people were willing to pay for.
Meredith emphasizes the importance of grounding ideas in addressing real problems, and she shares the lifestyle freedom she gained from entrepreneurship despite the financial difficulties. To supplement her income, Meredith started grant writing consulting and took on various projects, including returning to her family’s cattle ranch during Calving season.
She stresses the significance of surrounding oneself with successful people and shares a personal experience of seeking coaching and mentorship from a successful female entrepreneur. The episode dives into the topic of pricing in
freelance grant writing business and the importance of mindset in overcoming resistances and blocks.
Meredith also explores the three types of work days: management days, mission days, and money days, and the need for self-care to maintain mental clarity and creativity.
We also learn about the value of attending conferences, creating spaciousness in our lives for creativity to flow, and the important role of understanding and valuing the services we offer to clients.
Meredith debunks misconceptions about nonprofits, discusses the impact of grants on nonprofit missions, and shares her organic networking framework to build relationships and opportunities.
Throughout the episode, Meredith highlights the power of simplicity, focusing on principles rather than chasing trends. She also shares her experience of building a supportive community within her company and the positive impact it has on grant writers.
We also have a discussion on the scarcity mindset ingrained in the nonprofit industry and the shift towards cultivating a positive and expansive mindset. Join us on this episode of Grant Writing & Funding as we explore the world of grant writing, entrepreneurship, and the drive for change in the nonprofit sector.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Lifestyle freedom gained from entrepreneurship
- Supplementing income through grant writing consulting
- Different types of work days: management days, mission days, and money days
- The value of attending conferences for fresh perspectives
- The value of understanding the worth one brings to clients
- Misconceptions about nonprofit budget constraints and financial needs
- The value of grants in allowing nonprofits to focus on mission instead of fundraising
- The organic networking framework for building relationships with organizations
- Funding strategy as a way to build trust and rapport with organizations
- Keeping things simple and focusing on principles rather than chasing trends
- Celebrating wins as a cultural practice within the company
- Building a supportive community of grant writers
- Criticizing the practice of hourly rates in the industry
- Cultivating a positive and expansive mindset in the nonprofit sector
- Shifting away from a scarcity mindset in nonprofits
About Meredith Noble
Meredith Noble helps the entrecurious build lifestyle freedom by taking imperfect action. She is the co-founder of
Learn Grant Writing, an online membership for those building their careers in grant writing. Her book,
How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn, is a bestseller for nonprofit fundraising and grants. Her expertise has been featured in NASDAQ, Forbes, Fast Company, Authority Magazine, and other top publications. She has secured over $42 million in grant funding, and her students have secured over $550 million – a number that grows daily. If Meredith’s not biking or skiing in Alaska, she can be found curled around a steaming cup of green-tea and a good book.
Quotables:
- “Surrounding yourself with successful people can have a profound impact on your own success.”
- “Grounding your ideas in a problem that people are willing to pay for is key to creating meaningful solutions.”
- “Creating spaciousness in our lives allows for creativity to flow.”
- “Your network determines your net worth.”
- “The shift away from a scarcity mindset in the nonprofit sector is a big deal, but it is still an uphill battle.”
Connect with Meredith:
Resources mentioned in this episode:
OTHER RESOURCES:
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Thanks for listening!
Warmly,
Holly Rustick
Leading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.
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This podcast episode was lovingly sponsored by GEMS!
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What is Grant Writing & Funding?
Quit your toxic nonprofit job and replace your full-time income while writing grants part-time, from home! Join our students in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy to create Financial Stability and Flexibility through writing grants for causes you are passionate about: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy
World-renowned grant writing expert and Amazon bestselling author Holly Rustick provides coaching that helps new and experienced grant writers replace their full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or anywhere they want to live or travel in the world).
She coaches changemakers to master grant writing and start to grow 6-figure+ grant writing businesses on part-time hours via her signature group program, “Freelance Grant Writer Academy."
As an unapologetic feminist, Holly’s work in coaching female grant writers to master grant writing, find their cause-area niche, and navigate value-based pricing and nonprofit sales is breaking glass ceilings for women all over the world.
Every week, she coaches thousands of people through the top-ranking podcast, Grant Writing & Funding, books on grant writing, and inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy.
Holly has 20 years of experience in grant writing, and began her freelance grant writing journey back in 2005. While teaching in Kuwait and Indonesia, and then earning a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy in Belgium, Holly saw the light of setting up a virtual-based business in grant writing back in the mid-2000s. Having secured more than $45 million of dollars for nonprofit organizations, and then setting up a multi 6-figure freelance business, Holly has a mission to help female grant writers break out of toxic nonprofit J-O-B-S and create high-level income while freelance grant writing.
Inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, students have secured more than $225+ million in grant funding and $4+ million in revenue in their grant writing businesses within two years.
To amplify this work, she is past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was appointed to the Guam Business Advisory Task Force as an advisor to the first female governor of Guam. Holly lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella.
If you are interested in replacing your full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or from anywhere in the world!) join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy!
www.grantwritingandfunding.com.